Anti-Apartheid Moves Affecting Educators Grow

The board of education of the nation's second-largest school
district is expected this week to begin discussing a policy move that
would show its opposition to apartheid--the South African government's
increasingly controversial system of racial separation.

If the proposed policy is adopted, Los Angeles would join the at
least two other school districts, eight states, 30 cities, and 50
colleges and universities that have already adopted official policies
opposing apartheid.

In general, the policies call for the divestiture of stock in
corporations that do business in South Africa--including millions of
dollars in teacher-retirement funds invested in such stocks--and
prohibitions against doing business with corporations that operate in
South Africa.

The proposal before the Los Angeles Board of Education would
separate school-district funds from the pool of funds controlled for
investment purposes by the Los Angeles County Treasurer.

Under the plan, the district would create a separate investment pool
by combining its investment funds with those of any other county school
district or agency that would like to join it. Investments would be
restricted to companies that do not conduct business in South
Africa.

A full hearing on the proposal is expected in early September, prior
to any final board action.

Established Policies

The Oakland, Calif., school district is believed to be the first to
establish an anti-apartheid policy, according to Marian K. Magid,
public-information director of the system. In August 1979, she said,
the school board prohibited the district from "depositing any of its
funds in insti-tutions which make loans to or invest in South Africa"
or which lend money to other businesses that may directly or indirectly
invest in South Africa.

Last spring, the Pittsburgh, Pa., school board approved and
implemented a regulation requiring all school contractors to certify in
writing that they provide "no goods or services to South Africa."

The requirement can be waived only by a vote of the school board if
it is inconsistent with pre-established contractual obligations, if it
poses an undue financial burden on the district, or if no other source
of supply exists, the regulation stipulates.

According to Patricia Crawford, public-information officer for the
district, the board also approved a $35.6-million bond issue for the
renovation of three high schools that required financial institutions
selling the bonds to comply with the district's anti-apartheid
policy.

The eight states that have adopted anti-apartheid measures,
accord-ing to the American Committee on Africa, a New York City group
that organizes and promotes divestiture, are Connecticut, Iowa,
Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nebraska, Rhode Island, and
Wisconsin.

In addition, one territory (the Virgin Islands), three counties
(Rockland County, N.Y.; Multnomah County, Ore.; and Cuyahoga County,
Ohio) have agreed to divest stock.

According to a college organizer for the committee, between April
and mid-June, a dozen postsecondary institutions either totally or
partially divested their funds. Last spring was "the most intense
period of divestment since the issue first arose," he said.

City councils in Baltimore, Boston, Cincinnati, Hartford, Los
Angeles, Miami, New Haven, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia,
Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington, D.C., have also
approved anti-apartheid resolutions, said Dumisani Kumalo, project
director for the committee.

Effect on Pensions

In some states, where massive divestiture is taking place or being
planned, teacher-retirement programs face a potential reduction in
earnings--mainly because the stocks and bonds supporting the programs
must be sold at present market rates and the sales involve brokerage
fees.

Last week, for example, Gov. Thomas H. Kean of New Jersey announced
that he would sign a bill to withdraw, over a period of three years,
some $2 billion in state investments with corporations doing business
to South Africa.

The Governor acknowledged that the move could cost the state
millions of dollars from its $10-billion pension fund, which pays out
to a number of retirement systems, including the Teacher Pension and
Annuity Fund.

While some state officials estimate that as much as $100 million
could be lost, a press aide in the Governor's office said there is "not
much statistical evidence" to make any forecast on how much could be
lost.

Nonetheless, Governor Kean said the anti-apartheid bill has the
support of union leaders representing teachers, police, and other
public employees.

According to some state officials, the New Jersey divestiture would
be 20 times larger than that of Massachusetts, which in January 1983
passed a law mandating the largest divestiture at that time.

Municipal Resolutions

School officials said last week that efforts by municipalities to
divest funds or limit contractual arrangements have less impact on
schools and teachers than state initiatives, except where teachers are
members of municipal-employee retirement systems.

New York and Chicago are the only major school districts that
operate their pension systems through municipal programs, according to
Byron Spice, teacher-retirement specialist with the National Education
Association. About 80 percent of the nation's teachers are enrolled in
state pension plans.

Of Purchasing and Pineapples

In Baltimore, students and parents last year protested the serving
of South African pineapples in the school cafeteria, leading the
district's superintendent to call on city officials to boycott such
products.

But the city charter allows for few restrictions on purchasing, said
S. Arthur Fournier, the city's purchasing agent. "We have no choice but
to accept the lowest bid."

He added that it is nearly impossible to determine where goods
originate. "We buy from distributors," he said. "Most of the time we
don't know where material or components of products might
originate."

And, according to Ms. Magid of Oakland, state education codes give
districts little discretion in awarding or withholding contracts to
businesses.

A Local Issue

Some educators anticipate that they will be compelled to consider
the issue of whether or how school districts should be involved in
countering apartheid as the national debate over the U.S. position on
South Africa intensifies.

Milton Binns, senior associate for special projects and development
for the Council of Great City Schools, predicted that in large urban
school systems, which are predominantly minority, boards will
inevitably begin to discuss ways to limit dealings with South Africa.
But each city and district, he said, will have to devise its own
policies.

According to Philip A. Smith, director of public information for the
National School Boards Association, the issue of divestiture is one
that the nsba "has not run across" and on which there is no official
policy.

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